This invention relates to gardening, and more particularly to the production of compost in an enclosure and using the enclosure to support plants. The plants take advantage of the nutrients seeping into the ground from the compost heap and the readily available support from the panels.
This method has been used in growing tomatoes in Japan, where a flexible section of fencing is used to contain compost while tomatoes are grown around the outside. The present invention improves on this gardening technique.
The old method requires lifting the composting material over the top of a fence in order to put it in and if the fencing is to be sufficiently high to allow tomatoes to grow to their full height, the height becomes a substantial distance. The present invention provides an opening whereby the composting material need only be lifted a short distance.
The present invention also incorporates narrowly spaced horizontal rigid rods near the bottom to contain the composting material and more widely spaced rigid rods near the top where the only purpose is to supply support for the plants. It is understood that the old method did not provide for this, resulting in improper containment of the compost or needless waste in fencing material at the top providing for plant support.
With the rigid panels being pivotally hinged to each other, it is possible to store or ship the support of the present invention in a relatively compact form as compared with a roll of fencing material.
The use of rigid panels causes the enclosure to be fully self-supporting and relatively resistant to tipping over. Furthermore, the self-supporting feature provides the home gardener with versatility in that he can easily move his composting pile each year to another place. The use of rigid rods in the panels provides for adequate support of the plants even when they bear relatively heavy fruit such as tomatoes.